The Stoic Hills

The mighty mountains
Silent and still
Unwavering in the
Temperamental wind

Between the Rock and a Soft Place

During my Kanchipuram trip with my cousins, I heard the two ladies discussing a trip to Coimbatore and Pollachi. They talked about when the husbands would be free and how many days they could travel.

"Hey, why am I not part of this planning?" I asked, puzzled at this whole plan I was ignorant about.

"Of course, you are part of it. Nothing is finalized yet," they said. 

Breaking Free

A house or two I bought and sold I also have some Diamonds and gold

A little money

I managed to save

Birthed endearing children

To call my name

Ups and downs

I have seen

A life fulfilling

It has been

Circular is its nature

That's what I believe

Give a little

And a lot you receive

Outside and inside

It is all the same

A body that separates

But in name

Thorns and roses

All a game

If you can just see

Beyond the stage

Currency valid

Only on earth

Not a cell will travel

After death

Only the essence

Extracted and fragrant

Wrappers shed, traveling

Probably like a vagrant

Returning, starting afresh

Confused and misled

Trapped yet again

In its vice grip

Till breaking free

Untied, unchained

Singing the song

Happiness regained.

Dispossessed

I carried you for 9 months, claims the mother
I carry you in my heart forever, contends the father
This has been with me for so many years, cries the owner
These are mine, claim we as our wealth we measure

True Love

In a journey
Of uncertain steps
You are the only certainty
From birth to death

With you
I come alive
When you leave
I die

25/1000 - And Yet So Blissful

The temple town, the mokshapuri, in Tamil Nadu, Kanchipuram, is just a couple of hours away from Chennai. It is even connected to my maternal grandparents. My uncles and cousins often go there. But I have been there only a few times. And the only visits I remember in all these years are the stop at the main spots of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham (that was on work), Kamakshi Amman Temple, Ekambareshwara Temple, and Varadaraja Perumal Temple. 

Taller than the Tallest

The wave rose

Higher and higher

Triumphant, belligerent

Invincible, feeling confident

Higher and higher,

Striking in the hearts

Fear and wonder,

Inspiring awe

'Never seen such a one

Ever in my life!'

Gasped the people

With popping eyes.

Wonder acted like a string

Tying them, despite

Fear giving them wings

Ready any instant to fly

The wave rose to its peak

And then the fall began

It took many in its fold

But finally vanished without a sign

Though memories 

Of this and others

Higher and smaller

Before and after

Became legends 

To be repeated

Several times

Amplified, exaggerated

Of that wave or the others

There remained no sign

For they had merged forever

Into the vast ocean

Indistinguishable

From the field of waves

Attempting to achieve

Those heights great

Another will rise again

In its place, no doubt

But it will merge too

And remain but in thought

The fame and name

Last a little longer

But will that make

The wave immortal?

Then the name too

Will be forgotten

The tides of time

Erasing it forever after

But in everlasting hope

Rise again it does

And though dashed

On the cycle goes

Rise and fall

Is part of it all

And on and on

Go on, it shall

Till the water 

Seeks the depth 

And remains content

Basking in glory great.

The Whirling Circle

I stood outside the circle

A toe touching the rim

The flashing lights, the laughter

Joy filled up to the brim

The Kite

It touched the skies
Finally finding release
The kite, symbolising freedom
Flying beyond anybody's reach
Doing what it was meant to do

Fulfilling its purpose
On its own merit
With no one dictating terms!

The Temptress

The vivid colours and the beautiful sounds

Lure me, bind me to everything around

I stretch out and, with tiny fingers, grasp 

Relatives and friends, so many to clasp

I hold tight to things infinite

Believing they belong to me, indefinite

So much gold and diamonds to mine

Working hard to make them all mine

Showered with your kind abundance

I still seek wealth with no reluctance

How patiently you bear our abuse

Making us, even the heavens, refuse

All glittering, catching our eye

Entrapping us and satiating the 'I'

 

So that we come back again and again

Seeking pleasure, even if laced with pain

The other worlds we do not know of

You blind us to them by giving all we ask for

Food, lands, wealth and fame

Making us want to make a name

A mirage that moves as we do

With temptations many, you woo

So that we return again and again

For they all look like a great bargain

We seek nothing higher or spiritual

In the garb of a mother but really the seductress

Smothering us with things, so we remain

Fulfilling our needs in your domain

Knowing all that we get is left behind

Yet we come back again and again

There are but a few who escape you

Seeking and finding themselves anew

Till our eyes open after a hard fall

And strive hard to ignore your call

To drop it all and seek liberation

Seeing you from far with veneration 

I am wiser now, o mother mine

I revere you but have other paths to find

I loosen my grip so I may be free

Knowing it is all but a hazy dream.

The Safari Food Chain

Food chain, you have studied all about it in class 6 or 7, I am sure. Seen a diagrammatic representation, I am sure. Probably drew a crappy version of it too. 

Even in the corporate world, you would have heard of how the hierarchy works - like a food chain, each level eating the one below to grow bigger. Politics is no exception and probably closer to the jungle raj than anything else.

But, food chain in the safari!?

सलीम भाई का भाई

"तुम भी चलो ना इस बार सफ़ारी पे मेरे साथ! शेर जंगल का राजा है और भारत में सिर्फ गुजरात में गिर के जंगलों में मिलता है," राजीव ने मोहना से कहा| 

हमेशा की तरह, मोहना झिझकी, मगर गुजरात का नाम सुनके मन में लालसा जागी और उसने हाँ बोल दिया| अब अहमदाबाद से जूनागढ़ स्टेशन में उतरकर  मन में कई तरह के सवाल उठे - शेर के इलाके में घुसना सही था क्या? उसका पति तो साल में दो तीन बार तस्वीर खींचने जंगलों में जाता है| ये वहां क्या करेगी? तस्वीर खींचना भी तो नहीं आता है| 

Ode to Mother Earth

My feet work fast

My head in the air

Thoughts flying in all directions

Eyes observing everything there

The Amalgam

I rest on the floor, drop my weight
The physical, not insignificant
But the emotions, heavier
I feel them gravitate away

Unveiling

Captured in a shell
Separated but unaware
Connected through breath
Without thought or care

In Plain Sight

 "You draw, is it?" Madhukar asked Yamini, his eyes alight with interest.

Yamini smiled shyly and nodded. "A small indulgence... That's all."

"I am sure it's more than that. You seem very sensitive and aware," he said with an appreciative smile.

The Hiatus - Time to Break Out

Was it long or short?
Was there a break at all?

The words jumbled
Floating in mind's jungle
Wild and random
To be strung in a pattern.

Free At Last

It was a long road
I walked bare feet
Carrying some burdens
And memories sweet

The Noble Man

Initially, I was amused. And then I was thinking.

Rama sent his wife to the forest, but Ravana, the so-called demon, never touched Sita. What a noble man!

His anger was aroused on seeing his sister in agony because of her face being mutilated. He immediately set out to avenge her humiliation.

World Play

There is no excitement in monotony

And so we are given our little plays

There is no thrill in peace, and off 

We go to the war with little delay

 

What's so special about beauty?

What matters is the power to destroy

We rake old wounds on the mend 

Refreshing pains, we seem to enjoy

To despair, we cling

So life may have some zing

What purpose does the scar serve? 

To bind us to our pains and pleasures

Is this all a game, you wonder?

This world, so full of blunders?

Different levels one must cross

Before finding the treasure across

Buttons like triggers

Moving us hither and thither

Rolling on, trying to find purpose

Each different, performing in a circus

Claiming, 'I am right'

For a few moments in the bright light

Only to slip into darkness

To merge with blankness

Our identity wiped out

Our existence as if not at all

All our angsts and outbursts

Just bubbles, in a moment, lost?

Is this the game He plays

Till we find we are one and the same!

One, too, with that Supreme

Flashing in and out like in movies 

The Silent Core

 

Foamy waves
Child-like and eager
Touching the sands
Chasing each other

Innocent and happy

Noisy and teasing
Reaching out joyously 

Quickly retreating

The Insignificant I

Wave after wave
of generations rise and fall
In that tumble of people
I am less than a little drop

To Be, To Be

To be the mother
Who carried you in her arms
To be the father
Who was disarmed by your charm

Finite and Infinite

Clouds float away
The space stays on.

Wind dies
The air lives on.

The Flame

The body burns
So does the heart

The world burns

Angry and hurt in parts

The View

The Batra family moved to the second-floor flat hoping now for some privacy. The earlier house, located on the ground floor facing the main road, had been perpetually subjected to prying eyes. Well, whether anyone pried or not, Seema Batra always felt vulnerable. She had to keep the windows closed and ensure that all the doors were always locked. When the children complained of stuffiness and lack of view, she would snap back, "What view do you get in any case? Just the boundary wall."

Before - After

Just the sweet chant
Set my body on fire
Making it blossom
Like a beautiful flower 

A World of Make-Believe

 I love reading books and watching movies. More than movies, the books. Because, you can drift into a wonderland, imagine how it would be, be a part of the scene witnessing the events without becoming involved.

But after I put the book down, sometimes I am in that world, imagining conversations and scenes between the character and me. At one point, though, the futility of it hits me. Unless I want to write fan fiction, I can see that that character and my paths will never cross. I am not a character in the book and nobody writes me into a book, not even me. Some aspects of me may be reflected in some characters I write, but the dialogues the character speaks or the actions and behaviour are not necessarily unique to me.

Switch Off the Churner

Like the compass needle

always points north

So do our thoughts

take always the same path

Even when hands

are busy doing a task

The wayward mind is

constantly turning back

The Steps Go Up

I aimed for the top

I worked non-stop

Accolades came my way

But the goal seemed far away

Donning Roles No More

All that glittered

All that was fragrant

All that was soft 

All that was pleasant

All that was sweet to the tongue

The Misfit

She just loved fashion designing. He had strayed into this field because he seemed a misfit everywhere else.

She was the class topper. He scraped through, bumbling about clumsily from semester to semester, helped by his friends and classmates.

Knots

The knot. 

It begins by being useful. It binds and holds things together. It can be removed easily and so there is no cause for worry either.

If you pull an end and the knot gets removed easily, fine, but pull it the wrong way... That's it. Especially when you are in a hurry to untie it, everything you do will only tighten the knot and seal its, and your, fate completely.